The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1887-01-20

ofncers, and his tyrnnnical treatment Of his
men, rendered him 90 obnoxious TO all, that
he was pr;yately advised by the commander
Of the expedition-they were then ON the
march TO Port Royal-to resign and return
home. His subsequent action on this ad-
vice, 1t was said, was determined and &C
celebrated in no small measure by the fact
that In skirmish with the Indian allies Of
the French, he had bullet nred through
his hat-a circumstance only significant In
| that the ball had never been inside Of an
Indian rife.
His narrow escape from assassination
seems to have had no modifying effects
upon his bearing after his return home |;
but he became harsher in his manners,
and more despotic in his acts than
ever before. About three years after
this episode in his career, he mar
ried; and, IL we may trust the ac-
counts Of tradition, Mistress Trevor GER
tainly merited a far different mate than
him whom the fates had bestowed upon her,
or, it may be, had forced upon her. She ap-
pears to have been q woman Of unusual
loveliness Of both person and character;
and, IL John Trevor was the man Of her
choice, it is mystery what the attraction
could have been to have 20 Influenced her
But there seems some reason to belieye
that she had very little to say in the mat
ter; but, like the dutiful daughters Of those
days, who were thoroughly imbued with
the virtue of obedience, she had simply car
ried out the arrangements Of her father
and her future husband. The match, in
his eyes, was advantageous; for the Ire
vors were wealthy, as were the ideas Of
that age, while the Waylands were poor as
| are the ideas Of any age. Rose Wayland,
however, was not only lovely young lady,
but she was q thorough adept in all that
{ rertained to domestic economy, as under
stood and practiced two centuries ago; SO
while she could bring no money to her hus-
band, she brought moneys worth in her
ability to manage the affairs Of his house.
| hold to the best advantage. She was q
faithful wife, and Trevor appears to have
treated her with as much consideration as
he was capable, and to have been sometimes
influenced by her wishes and counsel.
1t was not long after this marriage that
the foundations for the Trevor house were
laid; and, in due time, the edifice was fn-
ished and taken possession Of by its owner.
In consideration of the prevailing customs
Of the times, the most remarkable circIm-
stance attending the first occupancy Of the
new house was the entire absence Of any
thing like the 'house-warming" festivities
usual on such occasions among both rich
and poor. This studied affront to the public
for such 1t was in ef7ect-was in perfect
keeping with the mans whole character; /;
but the prophetic spirits of the neighbor-
hood were not slow in foreboding and pre-
dieting the '!bad luck' awaiting the new
house in consequence of this neglect. How
ever, these prophecies did not have an i'm
mediate fultillment, and matters went on
with John Trevor very much as they might
have done had he opened his house with the
customary auguries, until, eight or nine
years later, the house did experience it's
| first great stroke of evil fortune in the loss
of its mistress, who died, Leaving three
young children to the care of others.
His bereavement seemed to tear away all
the restraints imposed upon him by the influ-
ences of his wife, and even to stimulate Ill the
| evil of his naturally turbulent disposition; |;
and John Trevor soon came to be regarded by
| the whole community as o man to be avoid
| cd And to make matters infinitely worse,
he became addicted to the excessive use of
| intoxicating liquors, and not day passed,
| sometimes for weeks at q time, that he was
not seen in a state Of helpless drunkenness
More than once he had been brought home
bleeding and insensible from the effects Of
violence at the hands Of ruffianly compan-
| ions in some drunken quarrel; or, perhaps,
of some sturdy yeOman whose veneration
for the blue blood Of the Trevors was not
strong enough to bearup under the insults
| and abuse Of one in whose veins it flowed.
Far to the west Of the Connecticut river,
among the hills, clothed by the almost i'm
penetrable thickets Of the unbroken, prime
| val forest, still lurked wretched remnant
of the once powerful tribe of the Narragan-
setts, so nearly crushed out Of existence in
the terrible King Philips War of forty years
before. Occasionally a few of these Indians,
singly or in small parties, would stray back
to the regions, once the happy hunting
grounds and dwelling places Of their fathers;
but they could count on only scant well
come from the white inheritors of their
ancient homes. The memories Of King
Philip, and the fearful atrocities of his fol-
lowers with the equally fearful retaliation,
were still fresh in the minds of the survi-
vors of these dreadful events and such was
the horror inspired in the hearts of the
rising generation by the tales OF sires and
grandsires, that these wandering children
of the forest were everywhere regarded
with fear and aversion that led ofttimes to
acts on the part of the whites unreasonable
and unjust in the highest degree. What it
was that brought these wanderers back to
the ancient seats Of their tribe, it is difficult
to surmise. Possibly the traditions Of the
former power and greatness of their nation
were carefully preserved, and these untu-
tored savages, obeying an impulse of human
nature, had come to look upon what had
once been the scene of their national
greatness; possibly, through filial or
religious veneration, they had returned to
visit the graves Of their ancestors, which,
to their minds, were not mere places of
burial, but really gateways passed through
by their forefathers to the "happy hunting
grounds" beyond.
But whatever their errand might be, it
was seldom apparent; and their white hosts
| could only see in these visits the forerun-
| ners Of fire and slaughter. Roaming about
aimlessly, as it seemed, sometimes begging,
sometimes, it is not unlikely, helping them
| selves, to supply their needs-food being
bestowed upon them grudgingly, and, as it
is bestowed upon tramps in these days, to
avoid their ill-will and its Consequences
when their mysterious mission was accom-
| plished, they turned their faces to the west
and plunged once more into the dark re-
| cesses Of the forest.
1t was some time after the death Of Mis-
tress Trevor, that a small band of the Mar
ragansetts came on one OF these strange
excursions, and temporarily pitched their
camp in the vicinity Of Winston. In their
usual impassive, taciturn manner, they ram
bled about, seeming to notice nothing and
to harm nothing Asususl, too, they were
looked upon with distrust and suspicion, but
were fed and tolerated by the timid as the
safest policy. This had always been the
course pursued in the Trevor household
during the lifetime OF its mistress, and had
1